Ball joint assembly



March 6, 1962 M. A. MosKovlTz 3,024,050

BALL JOINT ASSEMBLY Filed Jan. 20, 1958 tlnited States Patent 3,024,05@ Patented Mar. 6, 1962 fire 3,024,050 BALL `IOINT ASSEMBLY Milton A. Moskovitz, 8135 Antler Drive, Richmond Heights, Mo., assigner of one-half to Harry Frankel, St. Louis, Mo.

Filed Jan. 20, 1958, Ser. No. 710,023 2 Claims. (Cl. 287-90) This invention relates to automobile constructions and more especially to an improved ball joint assembly for use in independent steerable wheel suspensions.

This application is a continuation-impart of my application Serial No. 501,157, filed April 13, 1955, now abandoned.

The invention has among its objects a construction wherein the ball joints may be completely assembled units that are installable `or replaceable without requiring `disassembling, and wherein the materials that are best suited forspecific functions and characteristics are so arranged to insure a long and safe life to the structure. i

Another object of this invention is to secure a -ball joint assembly in an eye-equipped member in an improved manner.

Another object of this invention is to utilize a unitary member for both securing a ball'joint assembly in an eye-equipped member and securing a dust seal or boot in proper position.

A further object of this invention is to pilot and locate a ball joint assembly in an eye-equipped member to insure proper alignment and positioning of the assembly in the member.

Many other objects and advantages of the construction herein shown and described and the uses and advantages mentioned, will be obvious to those skilled in the art to which this invention appertains and as will be apparent fro-m the following specification.

To this end, my invention consists in the novel form, arrangement, construction and combination herein shown and described and as will be more clearly pointed out in the claims hereunto appended.

in the drawings, wherein like reference characters represent like or corresponding parts throughout the views,

FIGURE l is a fragmentary vertical elevational View of a portion of the front wheel suspension of a motor vehicle, with parts shown in cross-section;

FIGURE 2 is a cross-sectional detail, taken substantially along the line 2-2 of FIG. l; v

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional detail, taken substantially along the line 3-3 of FIG. l;

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional detail, partly in elevation, showing the interlock between the spring locking ring and the dust seal end; and

FlGURE 5 is a plan View of a locking ring.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, wherein I have illustrated a preferred embodiment of the invention, there is shown a typical front wheel suspension, as viewed from the rear of the motor-vehicle.

The wheel-supporting spindle 1 has a steering knuckle associated therewith, with upper and lower ends 2 and 3 respectively, and a steering arm 4 for actuating said knuckle, the latter in turn being actuated through pivotal interconnection with a tie-rod end 5 that is controlled by the vehicle operator.

Upper and lower control arms 6 and 7 respectively have annular flanges struck up therefrom to form the eyes S ltransversely through said arms, and said arms are' pivotally connected at one end (not shown) to the motor vehicle and are connected at their other ends for universal movement, by ball and socket joints, to the knuckle ends.

Each of said joints is in the form of a cartridge or self-contained unit that is completely assembled `and which can be inserted into or removed from said eye without disturbing said assembly of the unit. This unit includes a tubular socket member 9 having a bore axially therethrough, one end 10 of this bore being preferably somewhat oval or in the shape of an ellipse as shown most clearly in FIG. 2.

The socket member may have its exterior of such a size and shape as to be positioned through said eye, preferably by forcibly driving said member axially through said eye opening. A radially outwardly projecting flange or shoulder 11 at one end of the socket member abuts the eye flange at the end of driving movement insertion, and thus limits further insertion movement of said socket member into the eye.

Where the end 10 of the opening is non-circular, as shown, it is necessary to insure that the elongated axis of said opening is positioned in a predetermined angular relationship with the arm, and for this purpose guide or` pilot means are provided to act between said socket member and the eye flange so that only when said member is at a predetermined single angular relationship with the arm member, can the socket member be driven home in the eye. For example, one of said cooperating members may be provided with a longitudinally extending rib 12 to be slidably received in a longitudinally extending groove 13 in the other member.

In order to lock the socket member against axial withdrawal after it has been driven home to the properly assembled relationship with the arm eye, the socket member may be provided with a second, outwardly extending flange or shoulder 14 spaced longitudinally from the first flange, lsaid shoulder spaced from the adjacent end of the eye after said socket member has been fully driven home, and forming an annular groove `about the exterior of the socket wall between said shoulder 14 and the opposed adjacent control arm face.

A locking ring member having a pair of mutually divergent flanges 15 and 16 at an angle to one another, one of said flanges, flange 15, extending radially outwardly and abutting the adjacent face of the control arm and one end of its eye, and the other flange 16 having a plurality of circumferentially spaced resilient fingers extending radially inwardly at their free ends to form an annular opening thereat that is somewhat smaller than the diameter of the groove seat.

Obviously, after the socket member has been driven home through the eye, and while the locking ring is in place, the fingers `of the latter will spring or snap past the shoulder 14 into the groove seat, to lock the socket member against accidental withdrawal axially in one direction. To remove the socket member it is first required that said locking ring be removed in any preferred manner from interlocking engagement with the socket member.

The locking ring shown in connection with the upper control arm has the flange l5 reentrantly bent to provide an annular pocket to receive and interlock with a correspondingly-shaped annular end of a dust seal 1'7 that is made of a rubber-like material, and will act to hold said dust seal fixed at that end.

The dust seal 17 encloses the open end of said socket member and has an aperture at its other end to receive a sleeve 18 of a relatively inexpansible material such as of nylon interposed thereat to bear against the stud and knuckle, and this sleeve Will resist wear much better than the rubber-like material of the seal and therefore increase the period of usefulness of the dust seal.

The other joint may have a like dust seal, or if desired it may differ somewhat and include a rubber-like inner shell 19 to encircle the stud shank and exterior of the socket member, and with an outer shell or sleeve 20 of a 'different and preferably radially slightly expansible material such as nylon or the like to slidably telescopically receive said inner seal element and fully protect the latter from the elements. The size of the element 20 may be such that it is axially displaced from its initial position upon tightening of the stud nut, to shift said element 20 toward said socket member to the full line position shown. This axial shifting of the element 20 will act to contract the inner compressible shell element 19 to cause the latter to tightly engage the exterior surface of the socket member and improve the sealing thereat.

The socket members of the joints are each provided with a concave bearing surface 22 at the small end of the bore and there may be a closure element 23 across its other end. The stud that forms a part of the joint unit is rotatable and tiltable in the socket opening and has an enlarged head 24 within the socket opening, the shank projecting axiall outwardly through said opening.

A rotatable and tiltable bearing member is interposed in the socket between the stud and said concave bearing surface and has a convex exterior for complemental bearing relationship with said concave surface. Instead of making this bearing member or bushing of a single material throughout, with a uniform coefficient of friction at all of its bearing area, I have found it desirable to make best use of several available bearing materials to thereby increase the eficiency and longevity of the bear- 1ngs.

To this end, I so construct said bearing member that various portions of its bearing exterior surface will have friction coefficients that differ from one another, as for instance by making a pair of axially spaced end bearing sections 25-25' of carburized and hardened copper-iron or the like which have the property of being lubricantimpregnable and retaining, but which are substantially inelastic or non-resilient. Intermediate these end sections I interpose the section 26 of a material such as nylon or the like, that is only slightly elastic or expansible under compression and which has a comparatively low coefficient of friction. Initially, said section 26 may be of slightly less diameter than that of the socket bearing surface that it is intended to engage, so that under compression said intermediate bearing section will be radially expanded into bearing engagement with said socket bearing surface.

In order to prolong the effective life of said bearing, the various bearing sections may be rotatable relative to one another. While satisfactory relationships can be established by providing abutting flat face surfaces on the several sections, in the illustrated upper joint the sections are provided with interengagng ribs and grooves, `as for example with the ribs 27-27 on the opposed faces of the end sections and annular mating grooves 28-28 on the faces of the intermediate section. Such rib and groove interconnection retains the parts in proper relationship while permitting the adjacent sections to rotate relative to one another, to thereby present fresh bearing areas to the socket bearing surface and to achieve a slower and more uniform wear.

The lower joint shows a slightly different way of interengaging the nylon bearing section 29 with the end sections 30-30'.

By rounding the peripheral edges of the bearing sections, peripheral grooves are formed between adjacent sections in which lubricant may accumulate and communicate with the opposed faces of the sections to reduce rotary friction thereat.

Although nylon is an excellent bearing material and has a low coefficient of friction, it has a tendency to coldflow under excess loading and to seize or grab in the `absence of sufficient lubrication, so that although it is inadvisable to use it alone as the bearing member, yet it performs admirably in association with the other material as herein disclosed, and the oil exuded from the bearing surfaces of the oil-impregnated material will `always provide a sufficient oil lm to prevent such seizure.

The sandwiching of the element 26 between the elements 25 and 25 will control the cold-flow of the nylon section.

If it is desired to pre-load the bearings of the joints, yieldably resilient pressure means, such as the plate 31 and spring 32 may be interposed between the socket closure and the head of the stud.

While it will be apparent that the embodiments of the invention herein disclosed are well calculated to fulfill the objects of the invention, it will be appreciated that the invention is susceptible to modification, variation and change without departing from the proper scope or fair meaning of the subjoined claims.

What is claimed is:

1. The combination with an arm having an eye therethrough having first and second ends, of a ball and socket joint unit extending through said eye and including a socket member inserted through said eye from said first end only of the latter and projecting axially beyond both said first and said second ends of said eye, said member having an annular groove about that portion of its exterior that is adjacent the second end of Vsaid eye after said member has been completely inserted through said eye, a stud rotatable and tiltable in said socket member and having its shank extending outwardly through the latter, a tubular flexible dust seal having an opening through one end to receive the stud shank therethrough and having one of its terminal ends adjacent said second end of the eye, and a locking ring fitting between said groove and the adjacent end of said eye and having one portion anchored to said terminal end of said seal and having a radially expansible inwardly directed portion engaging said groove, whereby said joint unit is detachably interlocked to said eye against accidental withdrawal of said unit in one axially extending direction.

2. In combination, a member having an eye therethrough, a ball and socket joint unit removably insertable through said eye and having a converging end portion` provided with an annular groove and a stud shank projecting through said converging end portion, a retaining ring having a base flange and a plurality of resilient fingers, the tips of said fingers defining a circle smaller in diameter than the diameter of said groove, said fingers being cammed radially outwardly by said converging end portion during assembly of said ring to said unit, said fingers being engageable with said groove and said flange being engageable with said member when said ring is assembled to said unit, and a flexible dust seal having a peripheral lip and a central aperture for accepting said stud shank, a portion of said flange engaging and clamping said peripheral lip of said seal for retaining said seal in position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,796,142 Crawford Mar. 10, 1931 1,923,601 Weaver Aug. 22, 1933 1,932,099 Cabana Oct. 24, 1933 2,124,034 Hufferd July 19, 1938 2,161,433 Ritz-Woller June 6, 1939 2,397,464 Booth Apr. 2, 1946 2,467,639 Tornblom Apr. 19, 1949 2,635,894 Jackman Apr. 21, 1953 2,645,510 Booth July 14, 1953 2,797,930 Booth July 2, 1957 2,876,030 Booth Mar. 3, 1959 2,886,341 MacPherson May 12, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 179,486 Austria Sept. 10, 1954 477,915 Canada Oct. 16, 1951 630,181 Germany Apr. 30, 1936 v 643,235 Great Britain Sept. 15, 1960 301,309 Switzerland Aug. 31, 1954 

